Alaskan Resident Wakes to Bear Intruder Inside the House

A homeowner had a shocking wakeup call Saturday morning when a black bear started knocking on house doors, walls and windows around 7:00 am October 20. The unidentified homeowner called the authorities at 7:30 a.m. to report the bear, who was trapped inside an arctic entryway in the home near Mile 12 of the North Tongass Highway in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Alaska State Troopers and Alaska Wildlife Troopers responded to the scene to find the bear trapped inside the entryway. He got in through an unsecured door, enticed by the smell of food within. Once it was inside, the bear knocked over a trash can that became lodge against the door, trapping itself.

Alaska Troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen told the Anchorage Daily News that the bear “freaked out and knocked over a freezer as well. He tried clawing and biting his way out of the windows. The windows are fine, but the wood around (them) is scraped up.”

Troopers got the bear out by hitting the door with a 10-foot, 2-by-6 board, which opened the door just enough to let the bear get out on its own.

By the time all was said and done, the bear had cost the homeowner at least $1,000 in damage. “There are holes in the wall from it trying to bite and claw its way out,” Ipsen said. “The windows did not break because they are double or triple-paned up. The bear defecated all over the entryway.” For all the bear’s troubles, he didn’t even make out with any food. He was not captured and simply ran back into the forest from which he came.